World Championship of Online Poker Begins on PokerStars.com

PokerStars.com’s World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) began
with a record-breaking number of participants that drove the top
prize in the $500 No-Limit event to an astounding $306,200.

PokerStars.com’s World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) began
with a record-breaking number of participants that drove the top
prize in the $500 No-Limit event to an astounding $306,200.
Snow Leopard, from Downey, Ca., outlasted 3,062 competitors to
take first place after more than 13 hours of play.
Now entering its fourth consecutive year, the WCOOP attracts
poker players from more than 50 countries around the globe, making
this the most accessible and international of all poker
competitions.
Nolan Dalla, Director of Communications for PokerStars.com,
said: “I am thrilled with the response to this year's WCOOP. Poker
continues to boom and shows absolutely no signs of slowing down.
This is especially true for online poker. WCOOP gives all players a
unique opportunity to compete for a world championship title from
any computer in the world. With so many players and so many
different tournaments -- this is the Olympic Games of poker.'
Until now, the previous record turnout for a major online poker
tournament was 1,642 participants, which was set by the same
PokerStars event last year.
By nearly doubling in size, the total prize pool amounted to a
whopping $1,531,000. First prize paid $306,200. In all, 324 players
received prize money -- second in number only to the 2005 World
Series of Poker.
The 2005 WCOOP will continue to run through September 18 at
http://www.pokerstars.com.